Your strong and steady support of Jewish life brought our community together this September for a spirited High Holy Day festival, an enlightening mayoral forum, and an inspiring night with a Holocaust survivor. Here are just a few of the ways you made an impact in September.
FEELING JEWISH JOY OVER THE HIGH HOLY DAYS
Joy is a spark, serving as a reminder that life is beautiful simply because we can experience it together. Sweet Return, our young adult initiative NuRoots’ citywide High Holy Days festival, was 10 event-packed days of connection, creativity, and renewal. The diverse schedule of programs included 15 partner events (four organized by brand-new NuRoots partners), 48 Superhost Shabbat dinners, and original NuRoots experiences which created opportunities for 680 young adults in their 20s and 30s to meaningfully come together across the Valley, Eastside, Westside, and Mid-City/Pico-Robertson. The festival gave young adults fresh ways to return to themselves, to one another, and to the possibility of beginning again.
Learn about the many ways we’re helping young adults feel Jewish joy at JewishLA.org/NuRoots.
HEARING DIRECTLY FROM THE MAYORAL CANDIDATES
Engaging in civic life strengthens our entire community. Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman spoke to nearly 1,000 community members at our 2026 Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum, hosted in partnership with the Skirball Cultural Center, Jewish Family Service LA, ADL Los Angeles, and AJC Los Angeles. During the back-to-back conversations, moderated by Emmy-winning journalist and Cal Poly Professor Alex Cohen, each candidate shared their views on the issues that matter most to Jewish Angelenos, from ensuring Jewish community safety to protecting our community’s social safety net. The forum empowered Jewish voters to make a more informed and thoughtful decision this election season.
Missed the forum? Watch a recording of it at JewishLA.org/MayoralForum.
APPRECIATING THE COURAGE OF A LOCAL HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR
Honoring Holocaust survivors is one of the most sacred responsibilities of Jewish life. Our Emerging Philanthropists (young adults between 21-40) recently came together for an evening with Holocaust survivor Eva Nathanson, during which attendees heard Eva’s moving and inspiring story firsthand, while learning about JFEDLA’s work caring for thousands of local Holocaust survivors. The evening also shed light on JFEDLA’s ongoing Holocaust education efforts, ensuring stories like Eva’s, and the lessons they carry, continue to reach future generations.
Find out more about our work caring for Jews in need by visiting JewishLA.org/CJIN.